


This isn't the apocolypse. This must be something else.

by HelloThere3306



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: That good ol' Hargreeves disfunction, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24563683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloThere3306/pseuds/HelloThere3306
Summary: The Hargreeves siblings go back to the beginning, but Five must have miscalculated because Luther, Five, Vanya, and a newly resurrected Ben are six year olds.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Everyone, Ben Hargreeves & Everyone, Diego Hargreeves & Everyone, Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, Luther Hargreeves & Everyone, Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Everyone, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone
Comments: 7
Kudos: 77





	1. Six years old and still kicking

Swirling lights. Allison hears Five say something, probably a warning, but it's muffled by the whooshing of Five's power and the roar of the fire approaching outside. She feels her siblings hands in hers, and then her head's full of cotton and she feels like she's moving but she knows her legs aren't and she feels her hands slipping from her hold on the others. Then the moving stops and the noise goes away and turns into deafening silence. She stumbles back a few steps and almost trips over her feet, but she manages to right herself after a few seconds. 

They're still in the theater, but there are no bullet holes or torn up chairs and everything seems to be whole. Allison hears Diego groan, and Klaus mumbles something and holds his head, and it's then that she feels the splitting headache behind her eyes. She looks at Klaus and squints, realizing how similar Five's blue light looked to the light around his hands when he'd conjured Ben.

Ben, who she'd seen surrounded by Five's blue light and restored to his younger body. 

She whirls around to find him, to hug him and tell him how much she'd missed him, and ignores the wave of nausea that comes with it. He isn't there, and neither is Luther or Five or Vanya. Vanya, who almost ended the world.

They'd talk about that later.

"Where're mes freres et ma soeur?" Klaus asks, squinting against the bright theater lights. Allison supposes headaches must be a common symptom in time travelling. Diego pauses in his groaning to look around, and it's then that Allison hears a whimper off of the stage and in the seats.

All three of the present now-teens turn towards the noise, and are greeted by the sight of a sniffling Ben. "My head hurts," he whimpers, but Allison can't find it in her to respond. 

How do you respond to your brother who is now six years old who wasn't six years old before? Who was actually quite dead before?

Eventually, Allison shakes out of her stupor and turns her head, spotting an unconsious Vanya and a similarly wiped out Five laying on the floor. Ben looks over at them too and a fresh wave of tears sprouts from his eyes. "M-my sister and brother are hurt, and I don't know who you are! Whe-ere are my other brothers and sister?"

Allison feels her inside mother's heart stutter, her eyes glued on little baby Ben, who was never one for confrontation and was now forced to take over for his unconsious siblings in the face of what he perceived as danger. 

"Where's Luther?" Diego asked, startling the child. Ben shakes his head, confused, and Klaus laughs hollowly. 

"Right, we didn't get our names yet. Heh, imagine if we went to school and had to explain that." Klaus tries to make light of the situation, but Allison shakes her head with a frown.

Grateful for her healed vocal chords, Allison turns again to Ben. "Where did One go," she asks gently.

Ben points in the general direction of the doors. "He ran to find dad."

Diego groans again, and Allison finds that sums up the situation perfectly. Pointing at Klaus and Diego and then to the door, she lowers herself from the stage and plops herself down next to Ben, who flinches at the sudden movement. "Hey," she says. "Do you remember anything?"

"I, um...I think we had dinner."

Allison nods and gives an encouraging smile, picking up Vanya while keeping conversation with Ben. "My name is Allison. I know it sounds strange, but I'm actually your sister."

Ben shakes his head. "My sister is the same age as me. We're all my age." 

Allison nods, going to pick up Five as well. "I know that. And we _were_ all the same age, but something happened, and we...got bigger than you." She figured Ben would be more accepting of the situation if she said Diego, Klaus and herself had grown up instead of them _all_ having grown up and then deaged, and explaining the time shenanigans. 

"But..." Ben didn't finish his sentence, instead raking his eyes over her as if he was just seeing her. "But we don't have names. How is your name Allison?"

Allison huffed a sigh. "Well...when we get older, mom gives us names." She sits down next to Ben, leaning against the stage. "Yours is Ben. This is Vanya," she tilts her head towards Vanya.

"What about Five?"

"Uh. He-he didn't get a name."

"Why not?"

"Well-" The door burst open, and Allison was grateful she didn't have to answer the question. She wasn't sure how she would tell that to Five himself later, either.

"Let me go!" Luther's young voice screeched, and Allison giggled at Diego's pained face as Luther struggled to get out of his grasp. As soon as Klaus bolted the door behind them, Diego released him. Luther roughly hit the ground and sprinted at the door, ramming into it and denting it significantly. Allison knows that if Luther had the strength of his adult self, he would have broken it with one hit. 

Klaus saunters over and plops himself on Allison's other side, smirk plastered on his face. "He makes big damage for such a twig."

Allison nodded, her lips twitching into a smile. Ben looks between Diego and Klaus with wide eyes. "Are they also my brothers?"

Allison nodded. "Klaus and Diego. And One is Luther."

Ben nods dazedly. 

Vanya stirs in her sleep, and that brings Allison back to the present. Speaking of...

"When are we?"

Diego shrugs and goes to search the theater, and Klaus leans against the stage tiredly. Ben crawls over Allison's outstretched legs to get to him. "You're Four?"

Klaus grins and nods, nevermind the sleepy look in his eyes. "Yeppers. Good ol' Four, in all my ghosty glory!" Ben smiles sweetly, and Allison wonders how Reginald could ever have treated someone as shy as him as he had. 

Diego comes back frowning. "It-t's 2012."

Allison tried to ignore the stutter, but it was hard when he hadn't done it in years. She couldn't help the sympathy in her gaze, even when Diego's glare threatened to throw something at her. 

He huffs. "K-Kl-Klaus, watch th-the kids. Allison a-a-and I ha-ave g-gro-grown up t-talk to t-ta-ke care of." Allison dumps the sleeping children into Klaus' thin wiry arms, aware of his whining and Luther's banging at the door, and allows herself to be swept into privacy by Diego.

"W-we can't get o-o-ou-out of he-ere without F-f-five." Diego doesn't say 'but he's a six year old,' but he doesn't need to. Allison already knows.

"Where do we go? We can't go back home like this."

"Ugh...f-f-org-got about d-dad."

Allison nods and looks at her feet. "I wish mom could help us. Or Pogo."

Diego nods, but doesn't say anything after that. And for a moment, Allison is angry. Five had the plans. Five knew the calculations, he was the one that brought them here. He should've done it right!

But then Allison remembers that Five isn't perfect. None of them are, and it isn't their fault. 

"Uh, guys!" Allison turns around at Klaus' voice freezing at the sight of Vanya and Five's wide eyes staring around them in fear and confusion. Five had apparentely jumped out of Klaus' grasp, but Vanya was frozen in his arms.

"Guys, it's okay!" Ben takes over, holding his hands up in a child's mockery of comfort. "They're our brothers and sister! They got older 'cause of an accident!" Luther pauses in his banging at that, cautiously peeking around one of the chairs. 

Allison smiles encouragingly. "We're just trying to figure out where to go."

Luther's node scrunches up. "Why can't we go home?" Five nods vigorously in agreement.

Klaus answers. "'Cause daddy died!"

"K-Klaus!"

"What? It's the truth!" 

No one but Luther looks bothered, only confused that they don't remember what happened. Five points this out. "How," he challenges.

Allison sighs. "It's complicated. Just-we can't go home."

Ben seems to remember something. "Oh! And my name is actually Ben. You're Luther, and Vanya, and Diego, and Klaus, and Allison." He points to everyone in turn, hesitating when he gets to Five. "But you don't have a name." Allison bristles. She'd hoped to breach this concept later.

"Why not?" Five grumbles, his brow furrowed in the way it does when he's thinking. Ben shrugs, and Five crosses his arms. "Fine! I don't wanna name anyways. Five is better!" Allison is thankful for his stubborn nature, for once in her life.

Luther, however, doesn't. "B-but we were fine! When was there an accident, dad wouldn't let there be an accident!" Allison couldn't take it. She hated the way Luther stared up at her, up at Diego and Klaus, a way that showed complete and utter trust but also complete and utter disbelief. Luther didn't want to believe that their 'perfect' father would let something happen. He'd been brainwashed.

Klaus shrugged. "Things happen, wunderkind. Da-"

Before he can continue and shatter Luther's trust in them, Allison changes the subject. "Anyways, we need to find a place to go. We can't stay here, and we can't go home."

Klaus perks up, and Allison gets the distinct feeling that something bad is about to happen. "I know a place!"


	2. Hands are for taking, hands are for giving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Referenced drug use, stealing.

"We should stop for lunch first, I dunno when we'll get any." Klaus skipped along the sidewalk as Diego and Allison dragged the four kids behind them. Luther and Five were trailing behind Diego, looking upset, but Vanya and Ben only looked nervous. Klaus couldn't blame them, time travel was a pain.

"W-we don't have any m-money." Diego had gotten control of his stutter for the most part, but as was normal for his childhood self, the stutter was always there.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to get food without money?" Five yelled, his tinny voice ringing over the highways they were travelling on.

Luther perked up. "Dad would have money!"

Everyone ignored him. "We don't need money!" Klaus laughed. "We have hands! For grabbin'!"

Luther gasped. "We can't steal! Heroes don't steal things." Klaus sighed. He'd forgotten about the hero mentality they'd had as kids.

Vanya looked down. "'M not a hero...I can do the grabbin'."

Klaus shook his head. "No no Van, I've got this." 

Klaus stopped the procession outside of a gas station. There were already multiple cars there, and people casually smoking outside. Good for distractions.

Allison shook her head. "Klaus, we can't steal."

"Would you rather starve?" At the shake of her head, Klaus grinned. "Alright then. You guys stay out here and make a distraction while Diego and I go get the goods."

"What distraction?" Ben asked, but Klaus didn't answer. That wasn't his responsibility, they'd think of something. He always had.

Diego trailed behind Klaus. Klaus flinched at the sound of the bell above the door. He'd entered too many gas stations with the intent to do crime. He wanted that to change. Diego went to the food sections in the back while Klaus wandered the other side of the store, closer to the entrance. He casually grabbed a drawstring bag and began shoving things into it, glancing genially at the cashier. Several bottles of gas station medicine, a few mini first aid kits. This gas station was practically everything to people on the run. He'd frequented it for years after leaving. 

Diego sidled up to him, looking so suspicious it made Klaus want to laugh. "I heard-d Allison come in the d-door."

"Good for you! Now go be a vigilante and get some poor people some food. Like Peter Pan!"

"You mean Rob-b-bin hood."

"That'd what I said."

Klaus giggled maniacally at Diego's eye roll and continued shoving stuff in the bag, more open about it at the cashier's absence. He heard yelling outside and wondered what four six year olds and a thirteen year old could do for a distraction. He peered around the isle, expecting to see Diego, but he wasn't there.

"Di?" There was no response. "Diego, come out my man!"

Klaus walked the entire tiny store, and came up with nothing.

Blood pounding in his ears, face hot with panic, he consiously slowed his walk out of the door. Deigo would _not_ jeapordize his dinner. Lunch? They had never established exactly what time it was.

As soon as he made it past the door, an onslaught of yelling assaulted his ears. It made him dizzy.

"Where are your parents?" Someone yelled, and Klaus giggled. Vaguely, somewhere in his mind, he countered that with a 'we don't have parents.'

Five screeched back. "Where's your husband, lady?"

"Five!" 

Klaus puffed himself up, rushing towards the woman and his siblings. "Get away from my kids!"

The cashier, also present in the crowd, looked him up and down. "You look twelve."

"I'll have you know I'm thirteen!"

Diego popped out somewhere behind a customer. "Us th-three are babysitting."

Allison nodded anxiously. "We came to get snacks."

The cashier sighed. "Listen, I completely don't believe you but that's not what I'm worried about. There were four toddlers defacing my store! Frankly, I don't even know how they caused this much damage!" Klaus turned back to the store, still slightly dazed. How hadn't he heard that from inside? Who had broken the newspaper stand? Probably Luther.

Klaus squinted his eyes and pointed accusingly at the cashier. "How could you leave all that broken glass on the ground, that's a danger to children _and_ it's littering!"

The cashier blinked incredulously. "That was _them!_ "

Klaus shook his head and frowned. He turned to Allison. "We'll have to tell their parents about this!"

Allison nodded, feigning worry. "I hope their father doesn't sue them. He's already sued too many people."

The cashier blanched. "You know what? Just go. I don't even care." 

The group of seven ignored the sputtering lady and left, walking along the highway once more in silence. Finally, Klaus giggled. "You guys aren't very good at distractions."

Ben nodded in agreement. "I told them not to break anything, but Five said to and O-Luther listened to him!"

Vanya looked at the ground. "Do you think he'll get in trouble?"

Allison shook her head, lying easily. "No no dear. His boss will know it wasn't him." Vanya nodded to herself, as if to reassure the 'truth.'

Diego caught up to Klaus, walking easily beside him. "S-s-so, where are going-g?"

Klaus shook his head. "We'll be there in a minute."

Diego raised his eyebrows at the dangerous looking alleys and trashy buildings. Several people hung about, drinking or smoking or otherwise hanging about.

Klaus pressed on, taking them eventually to a building set weirdly behind the others. 

Allison gasped as Klaus continued on, heading to enter the brick building. "No!"

Klaus turned and raised a brow. "What's your problem?"

Allison stared at him. Klaus hated it when people looked at him like that. Like they were convinced he knew nothing of the world, like he was disappointing them even existing. Coupled with Allison's protective arms around Vanya and Ben, Klaus bristled with shame and frustration. "Klaus, there are needles on the ground!"

Klaus didn't need to look. It was something he already knew. He hurried to explain. "I know I know, but these people don't hurt kids! Mo-most of the people do drugs, but some don't. It, it's just a place for people to go so the police don't get 'em!" 

Diego looked at the building, expression hard and unreadable. "Klaus, I d-don't know if-"

"It's fine! Just c'mon!" Klaus sprinted the rest of the walk to the building and opened the door with a flourish, holding it open for his siblings. Diego entered first, followed by Luther and Five, then Vanya and Ben, and finally Allison. She glared at him upon entering, and he offered a shaky smile back. 

Allison growled out a warning. "You better be right about this."

Klaus' smile faded, and he shut the door with a bang. He reveled in Vanya's jump.

Klaus casually lead them through the hallway. It reminded Klaus of what he imagined schools to be like, though he expected schools would be more clean and have lockers on the sides. There were the same amount of doors though, interspersed among the many hallways. Klaus lead them directly to the third hallway. That was where the children were usually put while their parents did...business. As a teenager, he'd been the one doing business, so though he knew where the door was, he had never actually been inside the room. 

Ben looked arond nervously, and Klaus felt that was unfair. Last time he had been in the building, Ben had been there with him.

He didn't want to think about that. 

"This is the kid room," he vaguely explained, waving a hand at the door as he opened it. 

The room was lacklustre, big enough to hold maybe fifty. The walls were beige, the floor tiled. There was a long table along the back with random snacks that parents had found, and the children themselves sat upon blankets and backpacks and dirty pillows. Klaus admitted quietly to himself that it was certainly a step down from what they'd lived in with Reginald, but as soon as they could all see that it didn't matter, the better. The point was that they weren't bound to obligation here. They had food provided, and shelter, and whenever they wanted they could leave for pleasure. 

Dirty homeless children were only one cose for that. 

Klaus picked up Ben and settled them both in the corner behind the table. He ignored the stray ghosts staring at him and mumbling. He told himself they wouldn't bother him if he didn't look at them. 

Ben turned and clung to Klaus' neck, whispering discreetly in his ear. "I don't like this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't beta read, so please please please point out typos.


	3. This should have been the first option

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since maybe a drug den isn't the best place for kids, Klaus decides somewhere else might be more appropriate.

Ben frowned. Something about the building they'd stopped in felt familiar, and he didn't like it. Everytime he looked at Num - at Klaus, he felt a twinge of guilt, the kind he got when the monsters roiled in his belly and he couldn't stop them from breaking something. Klaus had picked him up and crammed them into a corner, motioning for the others to follow, and Ben had wrapped his arms around his - older - brothers neck in response. "I don't like this."

Klaus ignored him, instead reaching up onto the foldable table and examining one of the stale muffins. He shrugged and popped it into his mouth. Ben wrinkled his nose in disgust. Dad had never made them eat stale food.

Then again, stale food had been the least of their worries. 

Luther didn't seem to think so. "I don't wanna eat that!"

Klaus shrugged. "A diet might be good."

Diego scowled and huffed, yanking the drawstring back from around Klaus' thin shoulders. "I g-g-got bett-ter food." 

Ben sighed in relief when Diego pulled out a bar wrapped in plastic. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, they'd never had plastic wrapped food before, but if it came from a store that meant it would be fresh. Ben avoided the stared from the dirty looking kids around them, and waited until Diego pulled out another bar to take one. The first had gone to Luther.

Before Five or Vanya could get one, Klaus snatched the bag back. "Hey! We have plenty o' food here, we can't waste that!"

Allison slumped her shoulders. Ben had never seen her do that before. "C'mon Klaus, this stuff is probably moldy!"

Klaus only hugged the bag closer, keeping it from any grabby hands. "I can't hear you through the taste of DELICIOUS FOOD!" At that, Klaus took another bite of the muffin.

Five crossed his arms with a childish frown. "Delicious. What flavor is it?"

Klaus swallowed with difficulty. "Pumpkin. Or - blueberry. One or the other."

Five smiled at Luther's giggle and held a hand out to the strong little boy. Luther plopped part of the plastic covered bar into his hand, and Five devoured it soon after that.

Ben glanced at Vanya, who still had nothing to eat. 

"Want some?"

Vanya looked over surprisedly and shook her head so fast Ben got dizzy for her. "No...I mean, only if you don't mind."

Ben smiled at his sister and wordlessly gave her half of his. She gave a shy smile back, but avoided eye contact.

When had Ben started noticing stuff like eye contact?

Suddenly, he felt a lot older than he was. 

Ben looked at his family, all huddled together in the corner and eating snacks as a meal. Three of them were older than he'd last seen them, and seemed to know more than they'd told him. It couldn't be as simple as they were saying it was. Why couldn't they go back to the house?

By the way Five was staring at them, Ben supposed he was thinking the same thing.

Then, a clamor came from the outside, and an adult burst into the room. He was big, and his eyes looked black, and he was tripping over his feet. Klaus used his feet to push himself farther into the corner. Ben followed his lead, and so did Five, but no one else did. Ben didn't think they noticed. 

"Jus' lemme get my kid!" The man puched past another adult, a smaller thinner man, but one that looked determined. Dad always said that determination was the mark of a winner. That and actual skill. 

"Not until you sober up." Ben ddn't know what that meant, but Klaus flinched and Diego and Allison turned to look at him, and then at Ben and their other siblings. They knew what it meant. 

The crazy man scoffed and pushed past the small one, and Ben felt the monsters shift in his stomach. He folded down and pressed his hands against where they came out. Luther looked at him in that wide eyed way he did when dad yelled at them, and mouthed 'stop.'

Ben wanted to.

Klaus rolled his eyes at the man, not noticing Ben despite holding him squished in between the bag and himself. "C'mon, man, we're trying to relax here!"

The man turned on their group, and Ben felt the monsters roil. They wanted to come out. 

"Whaddya say?" The man swayed and stumbled towards them, and Ben felt Luther and Vanya shift towards him and Klaus, and saw Five latch himself onto Diego.

Klaus kept talking. "You got long legs, they can take you anywhere! Why'd you decide to stop here when you could be walking to Mexico?"

The man lunged forward and Ben - 

They panicked. Ben felt the hurt in their belly and the sickness, and they didn't stop.

They blacked out for a bit, and woke outside, lurching forward without moving his feet. 

"Hm?"

"Hey there sleepyhead." Allison mumbled, and Ben realized she was holding him on her back. He felt sticky and weird, and it was then he saw the blood on his hands. He shoved his hand where he couldn't see it. It wasn't real if he couldn't see it.

"What did I do?" He mumbled back, resting his cheek on her shoulder. 

"Aw, you didn't do anything Benny." Ben smiled at the nickname. He'd only just got his name, and now he was getting a nickname. He'd never gotten so many presents before.

Something tugged at his leg, and Ben shifted his head to see. Luther, still wide eyed, looked up at him. "You saved us!"

Ben blinked and shook his head. "No! I didn't do anything, I didn't!"

Five appeared in a flash of blue light, right in front of Allison. She stumbled and grumbled, but stepped around Five with no further complaints. Five stared for a few moments, expecting a scolding, but continued when Allison didn't. "Mmhmm! You made the bad guys bleed."

Vanya stumbled in her steps, and Diego scooped her up.

"Enough abuot that." Allison said.

Ben wanted to cry. He'd hurt people. Did he lose control? Had he hurt everyone?

"Oh! I have an idea!" Klaus' voice snapped Ben out of his thinking. 

Diego groaned. "N-n-no! You're la-last id-d-dea was t-terrib-ble!"

Klaus made an over-exaggerated gesture that resembled a monkey swinging it's arms towards the ground. "Well this one's better!"

"I don't trust you," Luther protested. "I don't _really_ trust any of you!"

Five nodded in agreement, and Ben made eye contact with Vanya, who averted hers a second later. 

"You don't have to trust me. But if you don't follow me..." Klaus waved the bag in front of their faces, walking backwards, and grinned. "I have the supplies!"

There were many groans among the group, but everyone followed Klaus' lead.

They found themselves in front of a building. Ben couldn't read the sign, but Diego frowned. "W-we ca-can't go in the-ere! We're und-und-derage, and _not_ v-veterans!"

There was a flash of blue light, and suddenly Five was waving from inside the building, a wide smile that Ben had never seen on his face before plastered on his face. 

Allison and Diego groaned, and the rest of them followed inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at writing long chapters but...I guess this is better than nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> The concept is cliche, but I'll find a way to spice it up. 
> 
> Also, the only thing I could find wrong with this is that I change up the tenses a little bit, but other than that, let me know.


End file.
